Robot Balloon Escapes In Britain

tjake writes "Theres an interesting story running about a intelligent robot balloon that escaped its handlers while being transported around the Magna Science Adventure Centre. "The flyborg has a computerised brain which allows it to avoid obstacles. " It was freed by "a very strong freak gust of wind which ripped the airship out of the hands of its handlers". I'm thinkin, is this a random mistake or the start of the attack?"

Comments

Anti-robot attitude

[Jason1729]

It's funny how there seems to be such a strong anti-robot attitude here. Asimov's robot stories always took place in a world that was afraid of robots. Everyone I know who's read his books found that strange but it looks like he was right after all.

Jason
ProfQuotes

Always remember to call a marksman

[gad_zuki!]

Pink Floyd could have used your services:

Perhaps our most publicised fiasco at Hipgnosis Design was the Great Pig
Escape, early 1977. Pink Floyd had rejected our suggestion for their
ANIMALS cover in favour of Roger Waters' idea of a pig hovering over
Battersea Power Station. Despite serious misgivings about such a notion
(shades of Monty Python and the Goodies -- was it not intrinsically silly?)
we offered to shoot the pictures and put the cover together. Contrary to
our advice the band didn't want the pig "stripped in" which would allow us
to photograph the pig anywhere, but wanted it shot for real, the pig
actually floating above the power station. Thus the forty foot zeppelin was
crated to London and assembled on location. Timetable as follows: ....

Day 2. Eleven still cameramen, eight man film crew, helicopter, one or two
of the group, manager but no marksman (?). Pig launched successfully on
bright clear morning. Hauled slowly up side of building, everyone snapping
away. Near the top, betwixt the towers, a fateful gust of wind. The pig
turned suddenly, broke mooring cable and lurched rapidly towards the
heavens. No one had told the marksman to return. The pig sailed away and
was lost from sight in five minutes. Absolute horrors. All that time and
money and it had simply disappeared in front of our eyes. The police
trailed it to thirty thousand feet and then gave up, the cowards. That
evening, the dirigible came down on a Kent farm. The farmer was reported to
have said he thought it "a bit unusual"! Actually the Press made a bundle
out of the whole thing: "flying pig interrupts international flight
patterns," "weird UFO spotted," "flying pig heads for home" (it was made in
Holland). But the Floyd don't give up that easily and the roadies rescued
it from Kent, repaired the puncture and we started again.

For grins and giggles...the literal translation

[Ethelred Unraed]

Here is a literal translation of the original German lyrics:

If you have a little time for me
Then I'll sing a song for you
about 99 balloons
on their way to the horizon
If you're just thinking of me
then I'll sing a song for you
about 99 balloons
and how one thing leads to another.

99 balloons
on their way to the horizon
were thought to be UFOs from space
so a general sent
a fighter squadron after them
To sound the alarm if it was true
But on the horizon were
only 99 balloons.

99 fighter jets
each one was a great warrior
thought they were Captain Kirk
That made for a big fireworks.
The neighbors didn't get it
and soon felt provoked
so they shot at the horizon
at 99 balloons.

99 war ministers,
matches and gas,
thought they were clever
and scented fat prey.
Called out "War" and wanted power.
Man, who would have thought
that it would get that far,
because of 99 balloons.

99 years of war
left no room for victors
there are no more war ministers
and no jets either.
Today I'm doing my rounds
and see the world in ruins.
Found a balloon,
I think of you and let it go.

Personally I always thought the German version was better -- the words fit the melody better and the song makes a little more sense (well, duh, it was written in German). The only drawback is that the original doesn't say "red balloons" ("Luftballon" just means "balloon"), which is a more dramatic image to me.

The song, though a little cheesy, captured the way a lot of people in Germany felt in the 1980s about the Cold War. Very pessimistic and almost resigned to their fate somehow.

BTW Nena wasn't a "one-hit wonder" per se. She is still a star in Germany. 99 Red Balloons was her one hit that made it outside of Germany, that's true. Though OTOH lately she seems to need money, since she's been showing up in all kinds of TV ads for, um, rather odd stuff that you wouldn't normally associate with rock stars. (Like laundry detergent. And an el-cheapo shoe store chain.)

She also has been releasing remakes of her songs, like "Leuchtturm" (Lighthouse) that aren't half bad IMO. (FWIW "Leuchtturm" was also on the album "99 Luftballons".)

Scary thing: when I first came to Germany, I would often start singing "99 Luftballons" in German to my German friends to annoy the hell out of them. They were simultaneously impressed and disgusted. (These days most Germans think the song is such a cliché as to be painful.) ;-)

Cheers,

Ethelred